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While I am by no means an aficionado on football, I trust that I am not alone in my opinion that last Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the Steelers and the Cardinals was the sort of match that fans were hoping to see. The decision as to which team would ultimately win the game came down to the final 40 seconds of the last quarter and it was a real nail biter. While fans opinions may vary depending on one’s team loyalty, I had no favorite player or team so it is easy for me to say the following with no bias: I believe when players reach the level of extraordinary talent which was self-evident in both teams, the game ceases being solely about talent and it becomes as much about heart, perseverance, and sheer tenacity. There can be no doubt that in their peak moments these guys truly love what they do. The passion oozes though their pores. In short, the team with the most talent did not necessarily win the Super Bowl; the team with the most heart, perseverance and tenacity won.
Such is the case with you and me. While we may or may not be athletes we are all still players in the game called life. Every time you “suit up” and go to work you are in the game. Each thing you do for your family or others is your contribution to a team effort. Every day when you do whatever it is you do to honor your chosen pathway, you are in the game. The question is, beyond your natural talent, your training and learned knowledge in the fundamentals of how to play the game, is there heart in your game? Do you love what you do? Perhaps most importantly, on those days when you feel like throwing in the towel does persistence and determination kick-in to get you through?
We all know these are particularly tough times for the vast majority of people, not just in our country but around the world. Between an ailing world economy and a world consumed in multiple wars, it’s easy to get caught in a vortex of negativity that can influence our predominate attitude about life. When Calvin Coolidge said that persistence and determination alone are omnipotent he meant they were all powerful and that, beyond all other possible fields of influence, it is the altitude of our attitude that ultimately lifts us into a transcendent consciousness that opens the portals through which our personal victories in life are realized. The game I am talking about is never about competing with others--it’s about living up to the full potential within us which came as an inherent part of our being when we were born. I believe this “potential” is nothing less than the very essence of God seeking to take form in our life in ways that fulfill our purpose for being.
This seems to be how the universe works as well. Living things that persist thrive, living things that don’t persist just sort of endure and survive, getting by until it’s time to die--they never really “live.” If you look to Nature you will even see the power of persistence at work. Take a look at the weeds in your flower bed--yes, the same ones you thought you “defeated” last month when you pulled them out, or witness a blade of grass growing through a crack in the concrete. That is the power of persistence at work. Watch a five-year old child who weighs all of 35 pounds gain yet another victory over mom, getting his way (using the same passion and tenacity a 280 pound Fullback uses to get what he wants) by activating the power of persistence. Persistence is what carries us forward to our given goals when talent alone is not enough while those around us who are worn out or are less driven throw in the towel.
My point is the same power that fired up the Steelers in those final few seconds of the game and hurled them to victory is available to you and I the very moment we decide to take action and get into the game with abandonment. It is our passion, persistence, determination and love for the game of life that lights the fuse which ignites the power. Amelia Earhart wrote, The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.
As a mindfulness practice today I challenge you to become fully engaged and bring persistence, passion and tenacity into the game called life. Trust the process...trust that there lies within you an Intelligence that knows how to lift you to extraordinary heights of success. The only thing required of you is that you get off the bench and dive into the game and play with all your heart knowing and trusting the universe is cheering you on! Then become witness to the greatness of who you really are. Press on, indeed.
Peace,
Dennis Merritt Jones
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